Ramallah, Oct 07: New Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said today that he would make the pursuit of a mutual ceasefire with Israel his government's main goal as his cabinet was due to meet here for the first time. Asked about the top priorities of his new cabinet, Qorei said, "trying to reach a mutual ceasefire with the Israeli side”.

And he told the Palestinian daily al-Ayyman he was ready to start "negotiating today" with Israel as he expressed his readiness to sit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"I will meet him when it is necessary and useful. I have no veto on dealing with anyone ... There must be preparations for any meeting because (it) should bring about something positive for both the Palestinian people and the Israeli people," he said.

The outgoing speaker of Parliament, who was installed as premier on Sunday night as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared a state of emergency in the west bank and Gaza, also said he sought a broad dialogue with all strands of Palestinian political life.
He wanted to "establish an intra-Palestinian dialogue more serious than anytime before in order to reach a common ground on the way of ending the present crisis."

Sources close to Qorei had said yesterday the government would move against hardline factions such as Hamas and Islamic jihad, but Qorei is also understood to be determined to avoid any descent into a civil war among Palestinian ranks.
"We will not be pushed into a civil war ... But we will not be lenient in imposing the law and order," he told al-Ayyam.

Bureau Report